persephone

"before there were motorbikes and quads, there were sheepdogs"..... There are STILL sheepdogs. Motorbikes and quads are noisy, riders who do NOT understand/care for the sheep tend to go fast and stress the sheep, and accidents can be fatal. Dogs are quiet - they can read the sheep and act accordingly. With 2 dogs on a reasonable mob of sheep one can be at the lead slowing them down and leading them..and one can be at the rear/sides, keeping them together and moving . Sheepmen know that the speed of a mob is that of the slowest sheep . Sheep,en also know that there is often an old ewe who will try and break away from the mob/lead them in another direction.Dogs know this too- and can act independent of the stockman to keep the mob together and at speed. I hate seeing young folks roaring around sheep on wheels....the sheep often get confused, get away from moving as a mob, and need frequent correcting by a roaring bike/quad. Waeching good dogs handle large mobs of sheep is wonderful.

What a great initiative - for the dogs, and workers

Working dogs are a must I did hear yesterday though that there is talk of robot dogs being used in dairies and on farms !

Thank you, T for your view. I didn't even read the original - came straight to you! I agree with you.

When I was a renter in my previous life, I had a dog and two cats - there was no damage whatsoever ...except cat scratches on my furniture , I got a lovely reference from one landlady ....

why take staffy x puppies - and so young? They are not worth heaps of money ...and need a lot of looking after

Very strange- dear little things .I do hope the owner is OK .

Wow! One lucky dog

That's good news - wonder what her next adventure will be ?

Oh dear - an impossible task, I would think. I didn't know rabies was a problem in India ..how worrying , with so many strays/ferals .

While it may appear shocking - I think their request is very sensible.

Thanks Those dogs look very much at home in the water ....I had no idea there were 'World Championships" !

how much room is under an airline seat? I have no idea- but would imagine not much .

Hmmm...they wouldn't have gone home if it was around here .

people will NOT believe that their dog is a predator I am glad those dogs won't ever do it again.

That is terrific - what a perfect home for him

Big business! Those poor dogs ....

Well, not much detail in that original article , but I would assume it livened up the show ! The poor employee- just doing their job ....glad they were only pushed .

Thanks, that was an interesting read Nice to see the dogs at work

Retractable leads should only be used after owners are taught HOW . Unfortunately, their use reminds me of dog park use- a lot of people just use them to give their dog more freedom....and have no idea of otherwise controlling their dog .(or ABOUT their dog's behaviour generally) When training guide dogs we used to use these , and I still use them on youngsters as a training aid .I still have my original, from the 80's!

Someone took a souvenir It would have needed a fair bit of effort, and a decent knife to carry this out ...doesn't appear to me a spur-of-the-moment decision ...it's concerning.

Should be more of it. (payment of damages) . That was obviously horrific for the poor woman. Interesting breed mix.

Wonderful news- about the dogs, and especially the new facility at healesville!

that seems at odds with dog welfare ...

Oh dear ......